


this is heaven in hiding

by coveredinthecolors



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Arranged Marriage, BDSM, F/M, Modern Royalty, PWP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-25 23:35:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17734802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coveredinthecolors/pseuds/coveredinthecolors
Summary: Prince Niklaus sees his popularity become lower and lower among his people and, amid all the scandals, he fears that he might never get the chance to inherite his father's throne. The solution? Marrying Lady Caroline Forbes, beloved by everyone in the country, in the hopes that her pristine image will help his.Of course, marrying someone without barely knowing them is risky. Thankfully, they find a fun and nice way to bond, though.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [melsbels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melsbels/gifts).



> Hello, Melissa! Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a very messy, elaborate scenario to serve as an excuse for smut lol. I had a lot of fun working on it, and I really hope you enjoy it!  
> Warning to everyone who didn't read the tags: this story will contain BDSM smut. If that's not your thing, you probably shouldn't read it.  
> Titles comes from Halsey’s song “This is Heaven in Hiding”  
> Thank you to everyone who heard me whine about this, especially Angie and Fei.

BREAKING NEWS: THE PARLIAMENT APPROVES KING ANSEL’S NEWFOUND SON AS HEIR TO THE THRONE

Liebling, 7:43pm | by Davina Claire

_ The parliament section that would determine whether the King’s out-of-wedlock son could become the heir apparent to the throne took place today and it has reached a decision. Tonight, at 7:32, it has announced that Niklaus Mikaelson is to officially become His Royal Highness Niklaus, Prince of Ersamt. _

_ As his traditional title suggests, the Prince has been made heir apparent to the throne of Chaudliebe and will become King after his father. _

_ Prince Niklaus was born from the affair of King Ansel and Esther Mikaelson, an English woman he met during one of his trips to London, and who was married at the time. Her pregnancy was kept a secret from the King and Niklaus was raised as a son of her husband, along with his five half-siblings. _

_ It was only a year ago when King Ansel, in a turn of the story worthy of a Hollywood movie, met his son for the first time and uncovered the whole truth. A 24-year-old Niklaus, who worked as an artist, had his life turned upside down and brought to live with his father in Chaudliebe. _

_ The people have expressed mixed reactions to the news, many worrying about the Prince’s controversial history. _

 

* * *

 

LADY CAROLINE FORBES HELPS RAISE OVER €1,000,000 TO FIGHT PEDIATRIC CANCER

Liebling, 08:31am | by April Young

_ Lady Caroline Forbes hosted a fundraising event last night to raise money for the Liebling Children’s Hospital’s oncology ward.  _

_ From 7pm to 12am, Lady Caroline offered a gala for the investors, making sure they had the opportunity to talk to doctors and researchers and understand where they’d be putting their money. _

_ The result was that the Hospital raised €1,089,764, well passed their goal of €500,000, which was needed to fund research and help finance the free treatment offered to those in need. _

_ Daughter of the Duke of Herzdame, Lady Caroline has a long history of helping raise awareness to important causes. She has been behind events such as The Liebling Marathon, The Chaudliebe Charity Auction and the Annual Herzdame Scavenger Hunt. _

 

* * *

 

EXCLUSIVE: PRINCE NIKLAUS’S COLLEGE GIRLFRIEND SHARES HER NOT SO GOOD MEMORIES OF THEIR TIME TOGETHER

Liebling, 4:15pm | by April Young

_ Prince Niklaus’s college girlfriend, Tatia Pierce, opens up about her time with the Royal — and she claims there was nothing happy about it. _

_ “Klaus is extremely arrogant,” she says, still using the nickname the Duke of Lupo used before he found out about his true origins. “Always thought he was better than everyone — including me, his girlfriend! He never wanted to talk, he was never around. Klaus, was always too busy with his ‘paintings’ or whatever.” _

_ Miss Pierce says that the Prince was far from being a charming one. “He couldn’t be bothered to remember my Birthday. Or our anniversary. He broke up with me through a text message!” _

_ She also claims that she has “strong reasons to suspect that he cheated” on her multiple times. _

_ We can surely add this to His Highness’s growing list of scandals. _

 

* * *

 

 

OPINION: WHAT SHOULD BE THE ROLE OF A LADY?

Liebling, 4:04pm | by Alaric Saltzman

_ No one is saying that women shouldn’t have the right to an opinion — as long as they are informed enough to do it, of course. _

_ However, even if they are supposedly qualified enough to have a say on important issues of our country, should a member of nobility be subjecting herself to that role? Does she not realized she has more important things to do? _

_ We are talking, of course, about Lady Caroline Forbes, future Duchess of Herzdame. _

_ In the past few years, Lady Caroline has taken upon herself the role of commenting on every single issue our country or society faces. And, while I am sure she is trying to do her best, we have to raise some concerns about whether she should be doing this at all. _

_ As traditions dictates, the role of noblewomen in our country is to preserve the nobility. Which leads us to believe that she, like her ancestors, should be worried about getting married and producing heirs and taking good care of her estates so that tourists will still want to visit them. _

_ Has this Lady forgotten her place? We certainly think so. _

_ Hopefully, she will soon see the error of her ways and go down the right path for women like her. _

 

* * *

 

BREAKING NEWS: PRINCE NIKLAUS TO MARRY LADY CAROLINE FORBES

Liebling, 8:02am | by April Young

_ Today has begun with an unexpected news coming from the Palace — Prince Niklaus, heir to the throne of Chaudliebe, will be marrying Lady Caroline Forbes, daughter of the Duke of Herzdame, according to the official press release sent by the royal family: _

_ “His Majesty the King Ansel is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Niklaus to Lady Caroline Forbes. _

_ The wedding will take place in the following autumn, in Liebling. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course. _

_ Prince Niklaus and Lady Caroline became engaged three weeks ago during a private dinner at the Palace. Prince Niklaus has informed The King and other close members of his family, all of whom have strongly supported His Royal Highness. _

_ Following the marriage, the couple will live in Liebling, in the South Palace.” _

_ The official statement does not inform us when the happy couple started dating and, while they have been spotted together in the same parties, no one suspected the Prince and Lady Caroline to be an item. _

_ It seems like it will be awhile before the royal family loses our interest! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The press release for their engagement was very much based on the one for Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement.


	2. Chapter 2

_I can do this._

_I can do this. I can do this. I can–_

“Are you ready, sweetie?” her mother asked, walking in through the door.

Caroline offered her a small smile through the mirror she had been contemplating herself in. Her eyes scanned her figure, searching for any imperfection — no matter how small. Her white dress looked flawless, not a single wrinkle in sight. Her hair was masterfully tied back in an elegant bun. The diamond encrusted tiara holding her veil in place was perfectly aligned.

She sighed, half wishing that there was something left to be fixed, something that would allow her a few extra moments in this room.

But she was ready, and everyone was waiting for her. And perhaps most brides could afford to be fashionably late to their wedding, but she did not have such luxury.

A royal bride had a tight, fixed schedule to follow. And, while that would normally calm her, today she found herself wishing she could stall.

“Yes,” she said, though, her chin raised as she accepted this challenge as she had always faced the ones that came before. “I’m ready.”

Her mother smiled at her, pride shining in her eyes alongside the tears. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bride look so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Caroline said sincerely.

At the very least, she truly _felt beautiful,_ like all women should in their wedding day. And perhaps a small part of her was even anxious to see the look on the groom’s face when he finally looked at her… For all his faults, Klaus did always look at her like there was no one else in the room.

Prince Niklaus… She almost scoffed at the thought of him.

Caroline wondered how he would behave today. With his trademark arrogance or as the almost hesitant man he had been when he had proposed this whole thing to her.

She supposed she would find out soon.

She allowed herself a moment to sigh before she squared back her shoulders and looked at her mother determinedly.

“Shall we?”

 

* * *

 

_Smile._

_Don’t stop smiling._

Caroline waved at the crowd, at all the people cheering and yelling their names. She tried her best to look happy, knowing that there were cameras recording her every reaction as she and her new husband rode the carriage towards the palace, showcasing it to the whole world — her country might be a tiny one, but the whole “man who didn’t know he was a Prince becomes heir to a throne” had brought a lot of attention to it.

And their wedding was the perfect fairytale happy ending to such a story.

Only the story wasn’t ending. This wasn’t the final page; the credits wouldn’t start rolling up any minute now.

Now she had to live with what they had done.

Married to a man she knew so little, who she didn’t even love, who she wasn’t even sure she liked… What would life even be like with him? Was he someone she could grow to enjoy? Could he become her friend, her partner? Would there ever be a chance for more?

She had thought she had planned this whole thing through before she had said yes, but now that this was actually happening, she wasn’t so sure.

Lost in her thoughts, Caroline only noticed Klaus moving when his fingers brushed against hers. The touch strangely intimate as he slowly took her hand in his, enlacing their fingers together and squeezing it once. As if he had sensed her unease.

She turned her head to look at him, never stopping smiling. He had a smile on his face, too, and — she wasn’t exactly sure why she felt this way — but his did seem to look a bit more genuine when her eyes met his.

He squeezed her hand again, as if to reassure her.

And why it seemed to work… She couldn’t tell you. Perhaps it felt good to know that he was going through the exact same thing as she was and, whether they wanted or not, they were together in this.

Klaus — just for show — brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her hand.

She would’ve rolled her eyes if she could, but she heard even more cheering from the crowds and she knew that what he was doing was working. So she just made her smile look bigger, as the completely-in-love bride she was supposed to be.

If the rumours that this wedding was happening only to save the image of the monarchy gained traction… Then Klaus would never get to be king and fulfill his end of the deal to make her queen.

She needed to remember why she was doing this.

Not for ambition — well, not _only_ for that —, but for the chance of helping her people. Of doing things the way they were supposed to be done. As the daughter of a duke, there was much she could, it was true, and she tried her best to make her voice be heard.

But as a queen no one would ever dare tell her that she had no business talking about certain things or that she had no real power to change the world.

Or that what she should be doing was focusing on making her house pretty or producing heirs… She wondered if she could have the power to behead certain “journalists”.

Well, it didn’t matter. All that matter was that she would make herself vital, someone whose opinion were heard and respected.

Yes, that made it easier. That made her welcome the camera flashes. The photos would be necessary for the future History books, after all. And you better believe she would make herself be remembered — and for all the right reasons.

Caroline looked at the man on her side by the corner of her eyes. She still wasn’t exactly sure how _he_ would fit into her big plans, but she supposed she would have to make do.

In his defence, he was virtually marrying a stranger for the good of the country, so she supposed perhaps he wasn’t necessarily filled with bad intentions.

And he was trying to comfort her, which she did appreciate — well, partially. She wasn’t sure how she felt about how perceptive he was being when it came to her.

They hadn’t event talked today, not really. They had barely said any words to each other besides their wedding vows… So perhaps the only sincere exchange they’d had — and forgive her for how much she treasured this — was how he had so earnestly told she looked beautiful when she finally reached him at the altar. His lips curving into an almost shy smile.

Was it silly that she had enjoyed it this much?

There was something about Klaus… Ever since the first time they’d met, he had always looked at her differently. Appreciatively, yes, but never in a way that had made her feel uncomfortable. Never like she was just a pretty thing.

He’d search her eyes every time she let out a — sometimes thinly — veiled rude comment at anyone who had just been dismissive of her. Amusement always present in his gaze.

They had made a game of it some nights. Pointedly looking at each other every time they _politely_ fought off the people who were trying to offend them — him for not quite being considered noble enough and her for her too many opinions that ladies clearly should not have —, as if saying they could see what the other was doing. Saying that they enjoyed it.

And there, among all the lies and the manipulations and pettiness, he seemed to really look at her. He seemed to understand her.

 _What? Do you think I would accept to marry you because my lifelong dream, because all I could possibly want in life is to be a princess?,_ she had asked mockingly when he proposed this whole thing to her.

She had been so offended by it all as he had smiled at her, but then he’d said —  _No. I think you’ve always wanted to be a queen, though._

_… And we both know you would excel at it._

Caroline thought about his hand still holding her. About how it seemed to calm her a little — far more than it probably should.

He was still a wild card. And awfully arrogant and sometimes rude. But… Well, she supposed he was better than most people at court.

At the very least she didn’t end up marrying one of the Salvatore brothers… How dreadful that would have been.

Too deep into her thoughts, Caroline barely noticed the rest of the carriage ride. Once she saw, Klaus was already offering her his hand to help her out. She took it, minding her dress so that she wouldn’t trip as she made her way out.

“Thank you,” she said, grinning at him.

He offered her his arm as some people came to help her with the — unnecessarily long — tail of her dress. She placed her hand on the crook of his elbow, allowing him to lead her inside, both of them turning back to wave at the people waiting there a few times before they disappeared behind the gates.

Caroline took a moment to look at him for the first time away from the cameras and the eyes of a crowd today.

“We did it,” she said, squeezing his arm.

“We still have to get over the reception,” Klaus reminded her, though then he offered her a small smile. “But, yes. We did it.”

She grimaced at the thought of having to go through hours of being under the scrutinizing and judgemental eyes of the nobility, but at the very least there wouldn’t be anyone recording everything she did or said.

They didn’t have the time to hesitate about anything, though. April, her assistant, was already walking towards them.

“Congratulations!” she said politely, though she was obviously there to rush them. “The king is already waiting you for your appearance at the balcony. Shall we?”

Caroline nodded. “Thank you, April.”

They moved as quickly as they could. A small crowd quickly gathering around them, forcing them apart for a few moments so that they could make every detail about them was perfect. Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, feeling too many hands on her — fixing her dress, her veil, her tiara; touching up her make-up… It was all far too invasive for her tastes.

It made her feel a little anxious and she had to fight down the urge to yell at everyone to step away from her. Of course, a princess could never do that.

Klaus didn’t seem all that happy about it either as he returned to her side. She supposed he must be even less used with all this than her. It made her feel a little better.

They hurriedly started to make their way up the many staircases that led them to the balcony facing the crowd that awaited them outside. Caroline did her best to remember to keep kicking her dress so that she wouldn’t trip on it, but even in the times she almost stumbled, Klaus was kept a firm grip on her to make sure she wouldn’t fall.

She shot him a thankful smile as they finally reached the top of the staircase. He stared at her strangely for a few moments, but before she could ask him what was wrong, his father came to meet them.

“Congratulations,” Ansel told them warmingly. He was the only person other than the two of them who truly know what was going on. “You did great today. Both of you. And Caroline! I did not get a chance to say it before, but you look beautiful, my dear.”

She smiled at the king, giving him a small curtsy. “Thank you, sir.”

Ansel had always been nice to her, even sometimes defending her from the nasty comments some made about her. He was kind and loved his people more than anything. He was a great king and it made her feel better about this whole thing to know that he knew of their plan and approved of it.

That he trusted she would make a good queen one day.

“We should get to it now,” he said. “It wouldn’t do to keep the people waiting.”

Caroline nodded, ready to get this last public appearance done with as soon as possible, and allowed Klaus to lead her towards the doors to the balcony.

Ansel walked outside first, and they could hear the cheering coming from the crowd as their sovereign waved and smiled at them. She tried not to let it get to her head that it got so much louder when they stepped outside — obviously, no matter how much criticism the royal family had received because of this whole situation, everyone just _loved_ the drama and wanted to take a good look at the ones involved in this scandal.

She had known there were many people there, had seen a lot of them during the carriage ride, but actually being in a place where she could seem them all and where they could see her… God, there were so many people staring at her.

She had never been shy, but even her felt unnerved by this.

All those people looking, waiting for them to make a single mistake. Ready to attack them the second they did, no matter if they were all smiling and cheering now.

For the second time today, Klaus seemed to notice her apprehension when she thought she was doing an amazing job at hiding it. It was very troubling, too, though she admitted it was hard to feel too worried when he let go of her arm in favor of taking her hand in his.

Why did it feel so comforting when he intertwined their fingers and squeezed her hand?

She had to fight down the urge to shake her head to clear her mind. She had to keep smiling and acting like this was the happiest day of her life and she was oh-so-in-love with Klaus.

Thankfully, it wasn’t so long before they were back inside. At least the most public parts of this day were finally over.

Though she didn’t suppose the thought of spending hours among those treacherous people offered them much relief.

Of course, it wasn’t as if they had a choice and they were quickly rushed to one of the ballrooms, where the reception would take place.

They both stopped by the door, though, taking a moment to breathe before they had to enter the lion’s dent. Caroline place her hand on the crook of his elbow again, softly squeezing his arm and sending him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

She must have failed completely, because the smile he sent her was of sheer amusement, and he thought he should lean in and say, “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll be alright.”

“Promise me you won’t leave me alone with any of the Salvatores.”

He chuckled. “I would never.”

“Thank you,” she said, actually feeling more relieved. She did not need to hear Damon’s jokes at her expense today. “Okay. I guess we should go in now.”

He nodded but said, “We should,” as if it was the last thing he wanted to do in that moment.

Still, they took a step forward and the guards opened the door for them.

And it did feel good that everyone in the room had to stand up just because they were walking in. What? She knew it was petty to love that she outranked every single one of those people (at least until Ansel walked in), but, oh, well.

They made their way inside, saying hello to a few people. Her parents came to greet them, letting her know how happy and proud they were… She would’ve rolled her eyes if it weren’t for how impressed she was by Klaus’s behavior.

There wasn’t a trace of the arrogant man she had met before. He was charming and polite — which she had already known he could be when it suited him, but what truly impressed her was how he could not stop singing her praises.

Telling her parents how lucky he was and how happy he was to be married to her. How beautiful and fierce and smart he thought her to be.

Caroline couldn’t help but blush, because he said it all like he truly meant it.

What a fabulous actor.

His siblings came to talk to them next.

Elijah was extremely polite as always. Kol made a lewd comment about their wedding night that got Klaus threatening to call the guards. Rebekah looked displeased as always — though Caroline supposed it had to do with the fact that the Mikaelsons were always looked down by these crowds.

Being rich wasn’t good enough for the nobility, after all. Even if she was sure the Mikaelsons were wealthier than most (if not all) people in that room.

As they walked away, Caroline couldn’t help but turn to Klaus and ask, “Your eldest brother truly didn’t come?”

Ansel had instructed them not to invite his mother or his stepfather due to the possible scandal that could lead to, and Caroline had been surprised by how okay Klaus had been with that. He had, however, requested that his siblings attended his wedding and seemed to find it important.

Finn had never RSVPed them, but she wondered if he had still been holding onto that hope that he might show up.

Klaus shrugged, and she couldn’t tell if he was just acting again. “It doesn’t surprise me. He has always taken my mother’s side on everything.”

She wished she could ask more details about his family, but the King chose that moment to enter the room, and they had to focus back on their roles for the day.

Everything started happening so fast. Finishing greeting everyone, listening to speeches, April reminding them every five seconds of what was the schedule… When they could eat, drink, speak, move, breathe.

Next thing she knew, she was standing with Klaus; his hand on her waist, her on his shoulders. A violin quartet starting to play.

She took a deep breath as they began to move. Things becoming quieter as she focused on him, on not messing up her moves.

“You look beautiful,” he said, very quietly, for the second time today as they swayed. She couldn’t help but believe that he truly meant it. “Thank you, Caroline, for doing this. I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”

She smiled at him, feeling her heart beat a little faster in her chest. “I mean, I’m helping ensure that you get to be king. I’m pretty sure I can understand what that means,” she teased.

He shook his head, as if she truly couldn’t. And she would’ve been offended were it not for the strange look he was giving her again.

Like she had caught him all by surprise when she hadn’t even done anything.

She wondered what it could mean, but for the first time today everything seemed almost peaceful and she didn’t feel compelled to disrupt that.

Especially when Klaus pulled her a little closer than one was supposed to during a waltz.

She had to admit that felt kind of nice.

 

* * *

 

“Now we’ve truly done it,” Klaus said the moment he closed the door behind them.

Caroline forced out a chuckle. She wished she would feel more relieved than she actually did, but now that she had gotten through today she realized that none of it had been the hardest part. Not the wedding, not all the cameras and the all the people staring, not even the backhanded compliments and judgemental eyes during the reception.

Because once all of that was done, she realized that she now had to do this for the rest of her life.

This was it. She was actually married… There was no going back now.

As always, Klaus was far too perceptive. She knew that he could tell what had been going on in her mind the moment she met his eyes.

He sighed, taking a few steps towards her. She stood still, not knowing what would happen now, not knowing what to do. He was her husband and she didn’t even know him… Would he comfort her? Would he speak harshly to her?

But he reached to cup her cheek and looked so fucking sorry as he said, “You regret this.”

She shook her head. “Not exactly,” she said, and he looked at her as if she was lying. She wasn’t, or at least she didn’t think she was. “It’s just… I’m thinking of all the ways I could come to regret this. It’s not that I didn’t think this through — because I did, and I want to do this, but… This is it, you know. We’ve done this and there’s no going back and there’s just so much that could happen, and–”

“Caroline,” he interrupted her softly. “There _are_ a million things that can go wrong, it’s true. But there are also so many ways in which this could go perfectly well. And, besides, should something bad happen… That is not the end of the line, yes? We’ll be prepared for the critics or anything else that might come our way.”

She scoffed, though the fact that he was speaking about them as if they were a team was making her a little calmer. “We can’t be prepared for everything.”

And the way he smiled at her… a secretive thing, like you would smile at a friend you had known for many years. “As if that was going to stop you from trying.”

And he said those words almost fondly, as if he enjoyed that she was going to try and make plans for every possible outcome. As if he would like to help her. And Caroline realized just how closely he had been paying attention.

Klaus had clearly been listening and taking in everything she’d ever said to him, every detail of her personality she had let slip.

He knew her. Or well, knew enough about her to look at her like he wanted to know more.

Caroline stared at him for too long, suddenly feeling very strange. Because through this all she had not entertained the possibility that he _liked_ her… And the fact that his eyes seemed to tell her that he did should make her so much more nervous because it made everything even more complicated than it had to be.

But instead, that moment was the first time she truly felt calmer today.

And, as it so rarely happened with her, she allowed herself to be controlled by that feeling and acted without thinking her actions through.

His lips were just so close and he was looking at her like she was the most amazing person he had ever met and she could not help but lean in and close all distance between them.

Caroline brushed her lips against his, slowly.

Klaus made a surprise noise at the back of his throat and did not immediately respond to the kiss, though he didn’t flinch away, either. She insisted for a second longer, more due to the fear of the embarrassment that would ensue after she pulled back than anything.

Thankfully, he chose that moment to move his lips against hers, too, melting into the kiss as he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer.

She felt herself smiling, reaching to loop her arms around his neck. Yes, this is exactly what she wanted. She wanted to forget how fucked up this all was and how great of kisser he was was helping her _a lot_.

And then suddenly he pulled back, looking so surprised.

Klaus shook his head. “We don’t have to… I know that we talked about sleeping in the same room just to be safe but I… I certainly did not mean to imply that we should–”

“I know,” she interrupted him quickly, feeling her cheeks heating. “This wasn’t why I… I mean, I don’t know _why_ I did that. I guess it just felt like I could– I’m– I’m sorry.”

He looked at her as if she were crazy and, God, why wasn’t he letting go of her so that she could step away? Wasn’t this mortifying enough?

“Why on Earth are you apologizing?” he asked, as if he genuinely could not understand it.

Caroline scoffed. “Look, it’s okay if you don’t want to…” she sighed, pressing her hand against his chest as if to push him away. “Let’s just please not make this even more embarrassing than it has to be.”

Klaus still did not let go of her. If anything, his grip on her hips only tightened as he frowned. “You think I do not want this? You can’t be serious, sweetheart.”

“Well, you were the one to stop the kiss!”

Hell. She wished that ground would just swallow her. Because now it sounded like this one was something she really wanted when she hadn’t even considered doing it until five minutes ago.

He smiled at her, as if he could read her train of thoughts. “Just so that I could make sure this wasn’t something you thought you _had_ to do. Because you don’t… That’s not something I would ever ask of you.”

Caroline allowed a small smile to appear at her lips, too. During this whole thing, that had not once been something she had worried about. For all his faults, she knew that he would never demand she slept with him just because they were married — if only because he seemed arrogant enough to want her to _want_ this.

“I know,” she told him truthfully, looking at him through her lashes. “But I didn’t kiss you because I felt like I should.”

His smile grew larger and he pulled her closer. Klaus leaned in, nuzzling her temple with his nose and making her shiver. “Is that so? Why did you kiss me then?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “I mean, let’s face it, it would probably happen again because it’s not as if we can kiss anyone else — not if we don’t want to risk our crowns, anyway.”

Klaus grew tense again and she mentally kicked herself for saying the wrong thing again as he pulled back to look at her. His eyes were cold. “So you did it to appease my insatiable hunger?” he asked mockingly.

A mischievous smile spread across her face before she could stop herself. “No,” she said, closing her hands around the lapel of his suit jacket. “I’m doing it to appease mine.”

He growled at her.

And in the next second, his lips were pressed against hers once more. This time, though, there was nothing soft about the kiss. It was all passion and teeth and tongue.

Caroline stumbled back as he started walking, leading them towards the couch in the small sitting area they had in their chambers.

She fell sitting on her side and he quickly joined her, immediately pulling her closer to him. His hand slipped to the back of her thigh, urging her to sit on his lap — at least as best she could while still wearing all those layers.

Her dress obviously got in the way and it made everything much more uncomfortable than it had to be, but for her to take it off they would have to stop kissing and, God, that absolutely seemed like the wrong decision to be taking.

Caroline buried her hand in his hair, a soft moan making it way past her throat as he bit her lower lip.

Her excuse had been a good one, hadn’t it? In the end, they truly only had each other for destressing. Anything other than that would be too risky and could cost them their power and, most importantly, send the country into political chaos for God knows how long until everything was settled — supposing that things would eventually settle, considering the highest form of arrecadation for the country came from tourism related to the monarchy.

So, yes. That was why she was straddling his lap and kissing him. Patriotism.

And maybe it had just a little bit to do with how good it felt to kiss him, and how good it felt to have him touch her. Even through all the layers of her gown. The way he grabbed her thighs, or even the way he brushed his hand up and down the bare skin of her arm...

She couldn’t wait until there was nothing hindering his explorations, though.

He seemed to be thinking the same, because he pulled back to say, “We need to get you out of this.”

Caroline smiled, feeling a rush of excitement go through her as she moved to stand up. “I think I might need some help.”

He chuckled as he also stood up, grabbing her hips to urge her to turn around for him. Caroline shivered as he leaned in to whisper against her ear, his lips almost touching her skin. “Of course, sweetheart. You’ll find I can be a very attentive husband,” he joked.

The throwaway mention to their current predicament made her feel a little nervous again, and she couldn’t help but tense. She was sure he would notice her reaction but didn’t particularly feel like talking about it, so she offered him a distracting smile and said, “Especially when it comes to undressing me?”

His lips twitched as if he knew exactly what she was trying to do, but he conceded. “Exactly.”

Klaus reached for the hidden zipper in the back of her dress. She took a deep breath as he slowly dragged it down, thinking that they probably shouldn’t be doing this, but the thought of stopping now just felt wrong.

Just by the way he had kissed her, touched her… She knew he likely had the power to make her forget all about this mess they were in for tonight.

He hit the end of the zipper at the base of her spine and quickly helped her pushed the sleeves down her arm and drag the dress down, so that it would pool at her feet. Leaving her only in her creamy slip.

Caroline stepped out of her gown, kicking off her high heels in the process, and then turned to look at him.

His eyes darkened a few shades as they roamed her body hungrily. She smirked at him.

She wondered if he realized that her undergarment was far too pretty. That the lace work at the edge of the skirt was meant to be enticing. That there was no way it had been chosen with the thought that it would’ve never been seen… That it said that maybe she had subconsciously wanted this, hoped for this.

If he noticed any of this, he didn’t say a word, and simply pulled her closer to him again. The fabric of her clothing was so thin she could feel the heat of his touch.

“You are stunning,” he praised. She wished she wouldn’t blush, but it was hard to keep it together when he said it like he truly believed she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Thank you,” she said softly before kissing him again.

She didn’t know what it was about his kisses, but God, it made her want to curl her toes as her mind went blank.

His hands slipped lower, leaving her hips to cup her ass and squeeze it lightly. Caroline buried her fingers in his hair to encourage him. Why was her skin so hot? Why did it feel like she could not get enough of this, of him?

Thankfully, he seemed to be thinking the same and started to blindly guide them towards the door of their bedroom.

She laughed as she stumbled on the bed, falling onto it and pulling him down with her. He was smiling too as he caressed her thighs, riding up the fabric of her slip.

Caroline reached to get rid off his suit jacket and he helped her pushed it down his arms in-between languid kisses. She really needed to feel his skin against hers, needed to touch him like he was touching her.

He kicked off his shoes as she unbuttoned his shirt. She hadn’t even gotten him out of it before her hands were trailing down his torso. She smiled against his lips as she felt his muscles tensing underneath her touch, as she heard him groaning when she lightly scratched her nails against his skin.

It felt so fucking good to have him hardening against her thigh.

Klaus finished getting rid off his shirt as she worked on unbuckling his belt — a difficult thing to do when he was distractingly scratching the skin of her neck with his teeth.

It was a good thing, for both of them, that she’d always been an overachiever.

“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed looking at his chest.

He chuckled. “Thank you, love.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Ugh, you know I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… If anyone found out you had those...” she said, reaching to trace the dark ink on his shoulder.

He seemed even more amused. “Ah, yes. _Tattoos_. If that is scandalizing you, I can only imagine what it’ll be like when I–”

“Oh, shut up,” she interrupted him, capturing his lips with hers again.

Him being a fantastic kisser and their off-the-charts chemistry really didn’t change the fact that he was an arrogant ass, then.

Klaus was still smiling against her lips, so she had no other choice but to unbutton his pants and slip her hand inside it. It did feel rather nice to have him groaning and bucking his hips against her touch as she cupped his cock.

She only wished she could’ve masked her reaction better when he reached in-between her thighs to touch her. The way he pressed his fingers against her folds through her knickers… She couldn’t help but moan for him. And he seemed all to pleased by it all.

Especially when she protested when he pulled back his hand, in favor of using it to take off her slip.

She had to take her hand off his pants to let him do it, and she felt a little better seeing how he clenched his jaw at the loss of her touch.

Caroline smiled at him as his gaze wandered down her body, pausing for a few seconds on her breasts. Damn, the way he looked at her make her feel so fucking powerful.

And his small smirk before he dipped his head… It made her tremble.

He closed his lips around her nipple, sucking at it as he reached to play with the other one with his hand. And it was all too much and not at all enough the way he would pinch one while teasing the other with his teeth.

Her panties were soaked through at this point.

“You are so fucking beautiful,” he whispered against the skin of her sternum.

She didn’t have it in her to say anything, too stunned that Klaus out of all people would be the one making her feel this good about herself.

Caroline reached in-between their bodies again, needing this to move faster. She pushed down his pants alongside his briefs, Klaus moving to help her get it out of the way… She couldn’t help but stare at him hungrily once that happened.

He smiled at her, pressing a quick kiss to her lips as he hooked his fingers along the edge of her panties, pausing there for a moment to give her time to stop this if she wanted to.

But, hell, she really didn’t want to stop.

They were in such a mess — and for the rest of their lives — and if there was a possibility he could fuck away her worries tonight, well, she had to take it. Plus… Every time he touched her she felt like she was catching on fire, and she was growing addicted to it.

Klaus noticed her resolve and she had to fight down the urge to roll her eyes at the smug look on his face as he dragged down her panties.

She eagerly spread her legs for him and rolled her eyes as he raised his brows at her. “Is there a reason why you aren’t fucking me right now?”

He chuckled. “Birth control?”

“I have an IUD,” she said impatiently. “And I’m assuming you’re clean.”

“I am,” he assured her.

She nodded. “Good. Now you can fuck me.”

Klaus laughed at how crude she was being, probably not having expected it of her. But he did lean in to kiss her as he positioned himself between her legs.

And when he finally pushed his cock inside of her… _God_.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head for a moment as she grabbed onto his shoulders, her nails digging in. He moved slowly, giving her time to adjust to his length as he finished pressing inside of her.

He groaned softly as he pressed kisses to her jaw, probably trying to control himself for a few more seconds before he started to move.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he cursed under his breath as she rolled her hips against him to encourage him. “You feel so good.”

She could only moan her agreement as he began moving.

Slowly, at first. As if he was testing it to see how she enjoyed it. And by the way she clawed at his skin and kept on rocking herself against him for more, he soon picked up that she liked it a little rougher.

Perhaps him being so perceptive wasn’t that bad after all.

At least it was hard to think so when he was kept thrusting inside of her so perfectly. He moved fast and hard and the way he gripped the back of her thigh as she wrapped her legs around his waist…

“Klaus!” she couldn’t help but cry out his name.

Ugh, he was going to be insufferable about this, wouldn’t he?

Though, again, it was hard to care about anything as he fucked her like that. His inflated ego, this mess they were in for the rest of their lives…

It all faded away as he made her scream.

 

* * *

 

Caroline closed her eyes, enjoying the sun on her skin.

They had left for their honeymoon, and were now all alone — with the exception of the member of the staff, of course — in one of the crown’s property upstate. It was secluded and calm and beautiful and it offered her the option to stay by a swimming pool all day long.

It was paradise.

She was so happy they had chosen to go somewhere private and do very few public appearances for the couple of weeks they’d be away. The making-sure-we-are-photographed-by-lots-of-paparazzi option had been considered, but they had decided that overexposing their relationship would be strange and unroyal of them, which might make some think they were trying to cover something up.

The quiet time allowed her to rationalize this whole thing and prepare herself for when they went back and had to return to the center of attentions. And just had to just live the rest of their lives like a married couple.

Klaus was being incredibly nice to her, probably trying to make her feel more comfortable with the whole thing.

He laid down by her side as she tanned, reading a book or sometimes sketching — which apparently was something he did, though he hadn’t actually shown her one of his drawings yet. And every now and then he would look at her and smile and his eyes would drag down her body slowly and she would roll her eyes at him, but actually feel really pleased about it.

And every night when they returned to their chambers, he would pull her to him or she would go to him and he would make her forget everything that wasn’t his name.

Which was a perfect way to make her let go of her overthinking tendencies for a few hours.

It was only awkward in the morning, when she would wake up in his arms with her head resting on his chest and their limbs intertwined. He would always already be awake and he always seemed reluctant to let her go as she gave him a shy smile and quickly made her way to the bathroom to take a (cold) shower.

At that moment, it all suddenly felt too intimate and she wasn’t sure she was ready to be so vulnerable with him.

Yes, things were going well enough. But they were not even a month into their wedding and she couldn’t just trust him like this.

She would keep an open mind, yes, but it wouldn’t do to be blind about this. They had to be smart and this had never been about coming to care for each other — this couldn’t become about that.

There were bigger things than their hearts at stake, after all.

 

* * *

 

She smiled as the cameras flashed.

Klaus had his hand pressed against her lower back, standing close enough to her that they really looked like a couple, though not close enough it would have people talking about how the Prince and Princess were breaking protocol.

It was a fine line to tread, having to pretend that she couldn’t keep her hands off of him while having to keep her hands off of him at all times when they were in public.

But two months into their wedding, and everyone seemed to be buying their lies.

The photographers screamed at them to change their positions, to look this way or that way, and Caroline knew that those pictures would be all over the news tomorrow morning. People would be posting them on Twitter and Tumblr and talking about what a beautiful, power couple they were.

Apparently, many people _shipped_ them (and she had made the mistake of going through the ‘Klaroline’ hashtag on social media once).

Klaus was obviously pleased about the whole ordeal. And sometimes she couldn’t help but think that he was happy everyone believed they were a couple, and not only because of the whole him-gaining-popularity thing — which was working fabulously, thanks to how much everyone loved her, by the way.

She knew it was a silly thing to consider. Klaus looked pleased with himself almost all the time anyway, so obviously it meant nothing.

What troubled her the most why was she was wanting to believe it meant anything.

No, scratch that. She didn’t _really_ want it to mean anything. It would be so complicated if did, anyway. Besides, she was clearly just confused, that was all. Because, even though they were not a couple, they had to act like one almost every day and then almost every night he would fuck her, which was great, but her brain was beginning to mix things up.

They were friends. With benefits. And that was it.

She shook her head. This was so not the moment for her to be overthinking their relationship. They had to get through this beneficent galla tonight, their first official appearance since their wedding.

“Thank God that’s over,” Klaus muttered to her when they finally got through the red carpet, his hand still resting on her back.

“I thought that the person with the biggest ego on the planet would enjoy having his photograph taken more,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes at her, a habit she was certain he was getting from her. “Offending your husband is not a nice thing to do, sweetheart.”

She shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Apparently she no longer winced whenever she was reminded that they were married, which was a good thing she supposed. He gave her one of his secretive smiles, as if he realized that, too.

Her hand slipped in his almost instinctively as they walked inside. She had tried so hard to fight it, but she just couldn't helpt it.

It was strange how easy this was all becoming.

 

* * *

 

Caroline buried her head in the pillows, her hands gripping so tightly onto the sheets she thought she might rip them.

And Klaus was only just teasing her, just brushing his fingers against her folds as he watched her squirm for him. She didn’t know exactly what he wanted from her. She was there, on her hands and knees for him, legs spread and pussy soaked.

But he just taunted her with his barely there touches.

“Look at how pretty you are,” he praised softly, his voice slightly hoarse. She was half convinced that he was using his other hand to touch himself to the sight of her like this. “Tell me, what do you want me to do, Caroline.”

She scoffed. “That should be obvious.”

She could almost see the smirk on his face as he hummed in agreement. “Yes, but I want to hear you say it anyway.”

Caroline blushed, feeling thankful that he could not see it. “W-What?” she stammered, her confusion being swallowed by the loud moan she let out when he pushed two fingers inside of her. _“Klaus!”_

“I do love the way you scream my name,” he told her smugly. “But I want to hear you say some other things right now.”

It was hard to focus on anything but the frustration that was taking over her as he moved his finger so slowly and refused to offer her any relief. She knew he had a thing for dirty talking, but she had always thought he enjoyed to be the one doing it — which she had no qualms with because he made it so hot… Plus, the _accent_.

But for her to do it? She wasn’t even sure how.

“What do you want me to say?” she blurted out.

He chuckled. “Do you like what I am doing right now? Are my fingers enough? Is there something else you would rather me to be doing?”

“This is not enough,” she said, annoyed. “It’s very far from enough. I want your cock inside of me, Klaus.”

She was surprised and very relieved when he immediately replaced his fingers with his cock, slowly pressing himself against her entrance. She groaned as he pushed in and in, feeling so full and perfect.

 _“God, sweetheart,”_ he muttered under his breath as he gripped her hips. It felt so fucking satisfying to hear it. “Tell me what you want now. Should I take you slowly? Build it up until your desperate for your release? Or–”

“Hard and fast,” she said desperately before he could finish, feeling a little more confident in admitting what she wanted. “I need you to fuck me hard and fast and make me scream your name, yeah?”

And he would be so goddamn pleased with himself, but, hell, it was so hard to care when he said — “As the lady wishes.”

“I’m a fucking princess,” she corrected him, making him laugh.

It was the last coherent thing she was able to say. She barely even registered his apology, as she was too busy focusing on how perfect it felt to have him move like that. It was rough and she could hear the sound of his balls slapping against her skin with each of his thrusts and she was pretty sure he was going to leave some marks on her skin from how he was holding her.

And all she could think was _more, more, more._

 

* * *

 

PRINCE NIKLAUS’S EX-GIRLFRIENDS COME FORWARD: LEARN WHAT THE PRINCE LIKES IN THE BEDROOM

Liebling, 3:37pm | by Davina Claire

_Adding to his long list of scandals, one of the Prince’s ex-girlfriends decide to shed some light on the royal’s likes and dislikes in bed. Princess Caroline, start taking notes!_

_The woman, who has chosen to remain unidentified, claims to have dated our favorite — and hottest! — monarch back when they were in college (our Prince has an art degree by Cambridge University, ladies)._

_And she also claims that Niklaus likes it dirty!_

_“He really liked being in control,” our source tells us. “He’d tie me up so that he could do whatever he wanted to me. And he was really good at it, too. He’d ask me to call him Master and would make me follow his rules… And punish me if I didn’t. It was all very hot.”_

_… She goes on to list the things they did — which we are sadly not allowed to print in a family newspaper._

_To know more about Prince Niklaus’s supposed enjoyment of BDSM, please visit us at our website!_

 

* * *

 

“Hey! Is everything okay? You said it was urgent!” Caroline said worriedly as she greeted Katherine.

She scoffed as she gestured for Caroline to sit down on the couch. “Of course everything is not okay! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were having kinky sex with your hot husband!”

Caroline immediately felt her cheeks heating. Of course Katherine would bring that up. She had never been very proper for a Lady, which was one of the reasons Caroline loved her… But she _really_ didn’t want to be discussing that.

“You know that nothing that tabloid prints is true, Kat,” she said in what she hoped was a convincing way.

But her friend just snorted, so she figured she’d failed at that.

“Yeah, right. And you look so embarrassed because it was just a lie.”

She looked so embarrassed because she kept wondering if it were true. She hadn’t had the guts to ask Klaus about it.

He hadn’t given her any clues about whether it was or not a lie when they were called to discuss how to handle this with their PR team. And since that discussion basically consisted in “this is beneath the monarchy and we will not discuss it ever”, she hadn’t really had the chance to find out.

And afterwards, it just felt like it would too awkward to ask him.

“I’m not obligated to tell you everything about my sex life, you know.”

“You are the worst friend,” Kat complained. “But just tell me this — do you think this is something that his brother would also be into? Because I would let Elijah tie me up with his ties. You can let him know that in the next family meeting.”

_“Oh, my God, Katherine!”_

 

* * *

 

Caroline bit her lower lip, weighing in her options as she held her Kindle in her hands.

She could finally finish reading that Napoleon biography — Klaus had teased her about it when he had seen her reading it, saying he wondered exactly how big her plans were for when she was queen —, but as interesting as it was, she found herself searching for something else as she eyed the empty bed beside her.

Klaus was still at his dinner with some boring members of the Parliament she had not bothered to attend.

And without _that_ sort of distraction…

She started looking for something else to read. Something that would be illuminating in other aspects.

She still hadn’t had the nerve to ask him if the things that were being said in that article were true, but if they were… She was curious to know exactly how those things could play out. And, yes, maybe some trashy novel on Kindle Unlimited wouldn’t be her best source for information, but she doubted it would do any real harm to try.

Plus, the thought of how scandalous it would be that the Princess was in possession of that kind of book… Well, it made it all the more fun.

She settled for a book titled _True Desire,_ bringing her legs closer to her chest as she began reading.

Her eyes skimmed quickly through the first few chapters, not bothering to read them carefully or particularly pay attention to the characters’ backstories or dreams and hopes. She was impatient to get to the good parts.

Caroline unconsciously pressed her thighs together as she got there.

Her breathing hitched as the protagonist — Amanda — allowed John, the mysterious love interest, to tie her up to his bedpost. She couldn’t help but risk a furtive look to her own bedposts… Even if she was all alone in the room, she still blushed.

_This feels so good, Master._

She shivered, imagining what that would sound like in her voice and shook her head when she realized what she was doing. She certainly shouldn’t be having those thoughts.

And they certainly shouldn’t be making that familiar ache in her lower belly make an appearance.

She shook her head, but continued reading, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She had read adult novels before, of course, but she had never cared to read anything with BDSM, figuring it would never something she’d enjoy.

The thought that Klaus might like it had sparked her interest to know more, but she certainly hadn’t anticipated that she might not completely hate it.

The idea of Klaus tying her up and pressing his tongue inside of her, just to watch her squirm when he wouldn’t give her what she wanted. The thought of him being a little rougher, demanding things from her…

As she read on, she couldn’t help but wonder how he would look at her if she were a good girl for him. Or how he would look at her wickedly when he decided she deserved to be punished.

God, she was so not supposed to be imagining these things… It would make their already complicated relationship all the more so.

Besides, she was probably just being curious. That was all. She doubted she would actually enjoy it if they were to do those things

And perhaps Klaus wouldn’t even enjoy them either. Maybe it had all been fabricated by the tabloids.

She still finished reading that novel, though. But only for the information it offered her, of course.

 

* * *

 

Caroline closed her eyes tightly, doing her best to just fall asleep.

It was past 3am and she had an early day tomorrow as a participant in a conference about women’s reproductive rights at the UN — thank God Ansel had done a great job at modernizing the monarchy enough that she could talk about this sort of thing. It would’ve been hell having to keep quiet about all these issues until she was queen.

But the thing was, what kept her from sleeping, what kept flashing in her mind, was not the speech she had memorized for tomorrow, wasn’t the list of the names of the people she’d be meeting.

No. What kept her from sleeping was the other side of the bed. The empty side of the bed.

Klaus had stayed behind in Chaudliebe while she had flown Switzerland, them rationalizing that perhaps it was better she started focusing on building foreign diplomatic relationships while he focused on building alliances inside their country. Plus, between him and her, obviously she was the most indicated person to participate on a discussion about women’s rights.

But the fact remained was that, for the first time since they got married, they were spending a night apart. And considering the fact that they weren’t even a real couple, hell, she had to admit that it felt really weird not to have him there.

She had gotten used to having him there. To his kisses and his touches and to waking up half sprawled over him.

And maybe it was because she was feeling a bit nervous about tomorrow, but damn, she really wished he would be there to offer her some distraction.

Caroline sighed.

Well, maybe she would have to take care of such matters herself.

She closed her eyes as one of her hand slipped down her body, slowly making its way down her abdomen and into her cotton shorts. She imagined Klaus was there beside her, watching her.

She could picture the look on his face. The way his eyes would darken and he would swallow as he watched her.

Caroline teased herself, wanting to drag it on. Wanting to imagine Klaus becoming more and more impatient to see her coming with his name on her lips.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she traced her folds, feeling herself growing wetter.

 _“Touch your breasts for me, sweetheart,”_ she imagined him saying, so she quickly complied, wanting to make him proud, wanting to imagine that satisfied smile he gave her when she did as he said.

She pulled down her tank top, exposing her breasts so that she could palm them. Would he be stroking himself at the sight of her pinching her nipples?

Caroline rubbed her thumb against her clit, making her hips instinctively jump up, her body needing more.

 _“Finger fuck yourself for me, Caroline,”_ he would instruct, _“I want to see you touch yourself for me.”_

“Yes, Master,” she whispered to the empty room, making her eyes fly open.

Well, that was new.

Her hand froze in-between her legs, the other pausing on top of her breast. Had she really just said that? Was it something she even wanted? _Submitting_ to anyone… It didn’t seem like it would be her thing.

But, well, she was all alone so maybe that wasn’t that much harm in confessing to herself that maybe she had been curious when she’d read that novel.

Still. This was all it was. Just a fantasy. Not something she really, actually wanted, right?

Yes. There was nothing bad about having a few spicier thoughts to get yourself off when you were all alone. Besides, no one needed to know it ever.

That made herself relax a little and she closed her eyes again, allowing herself to imagine Klaus once more.

Her hands began moving again, as she imagined him telling her what a good girl she was being for him.

And, God, it felt so good.

 

* * *

 

“So what are we reading tonight?” Klaus asked as he settled beside her on the bed.

Caroline instinctively held her Kindle closer to her chest as he tried to take a look at what she had been reading. Damn it, she had been so careful these past few weeks. And he hadn’t seemed to be noticing anything, so she grew confident and bolder and acted like an idiot since she started reading when he had been just in the bathroom.

“Nothing,” she replied far too quickly and urgently, which obviously made him suspicious.

She closed her eyes for a moment so that she wouldn’t have to see the smug look on his face. _Why? Why did she have to give him an opening?_

“Oh, come now, sweetheart,” he said, his voice far too amused. “You shouldn’t keep secrets from your husband.”

Caroline scoffed. “Okay, you seriously need to stop using the “we’re married” card all the time. It’s not even that funny.”

“I disagree,” he said, his lips twitching. “Now, let’s focus on the matter at hand. What could possibly be so scandalous about your reading material that you are blushing so beautifully for me?”

“I’m not blushing!” she said as she very much felt her cheeks burning. “Besides, it’s none of your business what I am or am not reading.”

He offered her a devious smile. “You do realize you’re making me assume the worst, don’t you? I’m sure it cannot be as bad as what I am picturing now.”

She rolled her eyes. “You won’t let this go, will you?”

“When you are so keen on hiding it from me? Of course not.”

She glared at him. “What if I have a super dark secret that I don’t feel comfortable revealing yet, uh? It would be wrong to pressure me.”

Klaus raised his brows at her. “A dark secret in your kindle?”

His smile grew wider when she didn’t reply. He took it as a sign he could refuse to let this go, and she yelled an indignant, “Hey!” at him as he rapidly took the kindle from her hands, before she’d even had the chance to react. “Klaus!”

He suddenly stood up on the bed so that he could keep the device out of her reach as his eyes skimmed through the page she had been on, trying to figure out what she had tried to hide from him.

Unfortunately for her, she had been right in the middle of a sex scene and, by the time she had also stood up and tried to retrieve it from his hands, he had already seen enough to know what it was about.

Klaus was smirking at her as he handed her kindle back to her. “How interesting,” he said smugly.

“Oh, shut up,” she snarled at him, her cheeks probably redder than they’d ever been.

She sat back down on the bed, doing her best to fight down the urge to bury her face in her hands as Klaus joined her. He was chuckling, the asshole.

“Come now, sweetheart,” he said, laughter in his voice. “It’s quite alright.”

She shook her head.

“Look,” she began, her voice shaking a bit. “There is nothing wrong with women expressing their sexuality or reading adult novels, okay? And if you try to make me feel embarrassed for–”

Klaus grabbed her hand to stop her. “You misunderstand me, Caroline. The last thing I want is for you to be embarrassed by this. In fact, I want quite the opposite.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He took a few moments to just look at her in that strange way he sometimes did. His eyes darkened a few shades and he offered her a wicked smile right before he moved, so fast she barely realized it until she was lying underneath him, his face hovering just a few inches above from hers.

_God, he was suddenly so close and did he have to smell this good?_

Caroline felt her lower belly tightening even before she heard his next words.

“I want you to feel comfortable telling me what you want,” he said softly.

She felt her heart skip a beat. He thought she wanted to...

“Oh. Uh, it’s not– I mean, I’ve never really done this kind of stuff,” she tried to explain, wincing at how awkward this was.

Klaus didn’t seem surprised. The intensity in his gaze remained, though, and she didn’t think she could look away if she wanted to.

“I see,” he said, voice hoarse. “Have you ever thought about it?”

He asked that question so innocently, as if it was so inconsequential…

She stared at him with eyes comically wide and he smiled. Klaus leaned in a little closer to her, pressing his lips against the corner of her mouth. She felt herself trembling underneath him as he kissed her cheek.

Then he nuzzled her temples with his nose and she found herself grabbing onto his forearms.

“If you truly don’t want to discuss this, we can stop,” he whispered against her ear. “But if you have thought about it… It is okay, you know. And it’s definitely not something you have to feel ashamed of, or feel embarrassed to talk to me about.”

Her heart was beating so fast inside her chest. His intoxicating scent was making her forget rationality.

“Have _you_ ever thought about it?” she asked in return, though she wasn’t sure she could bear to hear the answer.

“A few times,” he confessed easily.

“So it was true,” she stated. “What that girl said about you.”

Klaus smiled. “Yes... Is that an issue?”

She shook her head. She didn’t think it was… Well, at least she definitely wasn’t going to judge him about it — it would be a bit too hypocritical considering what her mind had been filled with these past few weeks.

“Not really,” she assured him.

“Good. Was that article why you began to read these novels?”

Caroline bit her lower lip. It felt weird to confess that, but she didn’t want to lie… “I was curious. I didn’t know if it was true, but if it was… I just wanted to know if it’s something that I could… You know.”

He hummed in agreement, and she was thankful he wasn’t making her say it. “And? What conclusion did you reach?”

She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. This was so not supposed to be happening; he never should’ve caught her reading that stuff.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I mean… It seems like it could be fun? But I don’t know if… Well, you like this. And I don’t know if I would really or if I could do the things you enjoy or–”

“Caroline,” he interrupted her firmly. “That’s not something you have to worry about. I love what we do, and I am happy to touch you in whatever way you’ll allow me to. We do not have to do anything just because I enjoy it, because there is no way I would enjoy it if you weren’t.”

“That’s the thing,” she said. “I don’t know if I would or wouldn’t like it. And I don’t want to say that we should do it and make you get high expectations that I can’t reach because–”

“Caroline,” he interrupted again. “As I said, whatever we do is more than enough for me. This has always been and will always be your choice. And you don’t have to choose anything now. I just want you to know that, should you decide you want to, then it is a possibility, yes?”

She nodded, looking into his eyes. He was staring at her worriedly, as if afraid he was making her too uncomfortable. And how desperate he seemed to be to make sure that she was okay almost made her smile.

“Maybe we could talk about it?” she suggested, feeling a bit bold.

Her imagination had came up with some really interesting possibilities for how this could go down, and she figured that maybe they could at least try.

Klaus seemed to be thinking the same as he kissed her.

“That sounds good, love.”

 

* * *

 

Caroline felt herself shivering when all he was doing was look at her.

This was a whole new level of feeling _bare,_ but it somehow made it all the more exciting. She was naked in their bed, her hands tied together above her head with a red piece of silk. Her legs were spread for him, though there was nothing keeping them so except for her willingness to follow his instructions.

And he looked so goddamn pleased by it that she couldn’t help but enjoy it, too.

Especially with how he stared at her, with eyes greedy and lustful. He offered her a feline smile as he sat on the bed beside her. Having him just a few inches away was making her tremble.

“You are doing so well, sweetheart,” he praised as he laid his hand just above her knee. Caroline felt a rush of satisfaction run through her as she looked at the pride in his eyes.

“Thank you,” she said. She knew that, judging by the books she’d read and by what Klaus and her had talked about, she was supposed to address him by some sort of title, but she didn’t thinks she was quite ready for that yet.

Giving up control like this was something that still felt a little strange to her, and he had understood when she had said she wanted to take this slow if they were to do it.

He had assured her that they would only do what made her comfortable and take things as slowly or as quickly as she wanted. And how fast he was to assure her about the things she worried, and how patiently he explained what she had doubts about… It made her feel so safe, even though she literally had her hands tied in this particular situation.

Klaus made her being at his mercy hot and exciting, and not at all wary or uncomfortable as she might have expected.

“How do you want me to touch you?” he asked, his hand moving just an inch up the inside of her thighs.

She could already feel herself growing wet. And it made herself blush to know that he would clearly see the way he affected her, how easily he could turn her on.

Heaven knows he was smug enough already.

Though, on the other hand… It did feel good that he would be able to tell she was enjoying it. She knew he was likely concerned that she might not like this, and she supposed it was only fair that she had a way of reassuring him it was okay when he had been doing the same for her ever since they first talked about it.

Caroline looked into his eyes, as he had requested she did at all times. “I think I would like your tongue in me.”

He raised his brows at her, his hand slipping up higher and higher. “You think?”

She shook her head. “I would like you to tongue-fuck me.”

She hoped she didn’t sound too greedy. She knew that the sub getting what they wanted usually wasn’t an easy thing — it was something she was supposed to earn.

But Klaus, perhaps because it was the first they were doing this, nodded.

Or at least that was what she thought before she noticed the wickedness in his eyes as he positioned himself in-between her legs. That made her know that he wouldn’t be that nice. What did it say about her that that made her feel so excited?

He pressed his lips to her right knee, starting a path of kisses down her inner thigh as his hand caressed the other. Caroline felt tempted to closer her eyes and just enjoy the feeling of his stubble lightly scratching her skin, but she forced herself to keep her gaze locked on his.

And when he reached the apex of her thigh… God, she wished she could bury her hands in his hair. She instinctively struggled against the cloth biding her wrists together for a second before she realized what she was doing.

Klaus smiled against her skin, though he snarled at her, “Be patient.”

“I’m sorry,” she said promptly.

He hummed to indicate he had heard her and would let it slip this time. And then he started nibbling at the sensitive skin of her thigh, making her whimper for him.

It felt like an eternity had passed before he finally gave her pussy a long lick.

Caroline cried out in relief as he spread her folds with his fingers and pressed his tongue inside of her… though so, so slowly. She did her best not to buckle her hips against his face, afraid he would stop doing that — and she couldn’t have him stop.

It was so hard controlling herself and she almost wished he would free her wrists only so that she could grip onto the sheets in frustration.

She needed more, and he very much knew it.

Suddenly him so easily complying with her wishes made a lot more sense… Of course he wouldn’t just be nice to her. There had to have a catch.

“Please,” she found herself saying, her desperation coming out in her voice. “I need more.”

Klaus squeezed her thigh, as if to tell her she was doing well. It made her feel a little more comfortable, especially as he began to move a little faster and began to rub his finger against her clit.

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, but she forced herself to keep looking at his hungry eyes as he kept on tongue-fucking her.

And it was even better when he traded his tongue for his fingers and vice-versa. How he plunged two fingers inside of her and moved them fast and perfect, curling them to brush against her walls with every movement. How he circled her clit with his tongue repeatedly, until she was a whimpering mess.

It was so hard to keep looking at him as he teased her lightly with his teeth or when he closed his lips around her sensitive bud.

“This feels so good,” she blurted out, almost without realizing she was doing it.

And then, of course, he stopped.

Caroline groaned. _“Please–”_

“Shh,” he soothed, caressing her thigh. “I’ll take care of your needs, love, but only when I think the time is right. Do you understand?”

_Is that alright?_

It was hard to focus and nod when she was trembling the way she was, but she did her best. “Yes,” she forced herself to reply, knowing that she should always answer him unless it was stated otherwise.

“Good girl,” he praised.

Caroline felt herself with a small smile on her face. It felt so good when he said that. “Thank you.”

“Keep your legs spread for me, yes? Don’t move,” he instructed as he got up from the bed. She fought down the urge to groan as she watched his shirtless figure walk away… She needed his abs closer to her.

It was a bit thrilling when he returned with a small box on his hands.

She eyed him curiously. “What is that?”

Klaus smiled at her, producing a small vibrator from the box. “Something we can have some fun with.”

Indeed… She felt herself growing even more turned on at the thought of him seeing her using a toy to satisfy herself. Would he watch as her release was built slowly? Would he memorize the faces she made, the littles tells she gave away when she was close?

Would he sketch her like that? Flushed and wanting and needing him?

After he had turned it on and put it inside of her, she found out it would be much worse than that.

The toy inside of her was very small and she knew it would take forever to make her come. She had thought that would be the most frustrating thing about the situation, but Klaus once again surprised her.

He got rid off his pants as he watched her and she could only stare at him as he took his hardened cock in his hand and began touching himself.

Caroline groaned. This was so not fair.

There was something about watching him stroke himself while he looked at her with such heat in his eyes… It made every inch of her body feel like it was bursting into flame.

“Look at how beautiful you are,” he praised. “Letting me tie you up and do whatever I want to you… You are being such a good girl for me, aren’t you? Do you like it, sweetheart? That I’m making you stay like that, tied up and with a toy inside of you, only so that I can have something pretty to look at while I take care of myself?”

“Yes,” she said, and she truly meant it. The fact that this was clearly pleasing him so much was making her feel so good about it.

“Tell me.”

She took a deep breath. It was hard concentrating when she had a toy inside of her and Klaus was looking at her like that, but she did the best she could.

“I like having you touch yourself looking at me,” she said, sounding a little breathless. “And I– I like having a toy inside of me while you do so. And I like how you look at me like you want me.”

He smiled, humming in agreement. “I very much want you… But I think that teaching you patience is important, don’t you agree?”

She nodded, hoping that if she agreed he wouldn’t torture her for too long. “Yes.”

“Good girl.”

And he looked so proud as he said that.

It was still hell having to watch him touch himself, wishing so bad that she would be the one to do it while all she could was look at him and see the signs of how much he was enjoying this. The way he swallowed, or how his shoulders tensed as he tightened his grip a little…

And the vibrator was doing so little for her. It just teased her enough to get her painfully turned on but didn’t manage to push her off the edge.

She thought she would finally be able to do something when Klaus moved to place one leg on each side of her body. She even licked her lips in anticipation, hoping that he would let her finish him with her mouth.

He smirked, reading her reaction correctly. “You do enjoy pleasing me, don’t you? Look at how eager you are to wrap your pretty lips around my cock… And you do look lovely when you do it… I have other plans for tonight, however.”

Caroline wished she could’ve masked her disappointment better.

He chuckled, reaching to touch her cheek with his free hand. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I love having you on your knees for me, there will be no lack of opportunities for you to please me like that.”

“Okay…” she said as she rocked her hips against nothing, starting to feel a little desperate. “What will you do tonight, then?”

“I want to come on your pretty breasts. I want you to be covered with the evidence of your willingness to submit to me. How does that sound?”

She blushed beautifully for him.

It had not been something she had imagined before, but now that he had brought it up… Yes, she very much enjoyed the idea of him marking her like that. It felt _right_.

“Really good.”

He smiled, looking very satisfied with her answer. “You are being so good for me, Caroline. Can you see how well you are doing? Do you have any idea how you are making me feel? I love having you like this for me. I love how willing you were to do everything I said and how much I can see that you are enjoying this and– _fuck_.”

Klaus came, spilling on her breasts.

She felt her breathing quickening. It was a strange feeling, but in a _really_ good way. And how sinfully perfect it felt to have his come staining her skin… What would anyone say if she saw her like this? Their Princess, tied up to a bed and with her husband’s release sticking to her breasts.

God, if only that toy was giving her a little more, she would be screaming his name by now.

“We’ll let it dry now,” Klaus said, looking very happy as he stared at her.

“Could you please touch me?” she blurted out. “Please. I’ll do anything, I just… I really need you.”

Klaus pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. “I suppose you’ve earned that.”

She cried out in relief as he sat beside her again and took the toy out of her, only to replace it with his fingers. He gave her exactly what she needed this time, thrusting them inside of her fast, curling them slightly so that they’d hit her g-spot.

And when he just pressed his thumb against her clit, Caroline fell apart, his name on her lips.

She allowed herself to close her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t mind. She just needed a moment until the bright dots stopped clouding her vision and her breathing came back to normal.

She barely registered Klaus untying her wrists, only truly noticing she was free when he sat back on the pillows and pulled her to him.

It felt kind of nice to cuddle against his chest as he held her like that.

“You were perfect,” he told her. “So much better than any fantasy I could’ve ever had about this. Did you enjoy yourself?”

She loved how he took the time to reassure her and it felt so unbelievably amazing to know that this had been good for him, too.

“I really did,” she said. “It was better than I could’ve ever imagined, too.”

He paused for a moment. “If there was anything about it that you didn’t like or that didn’t make you feel comfortable–”

“Then I’d tell you,” she assured him. “I would’ve used the safeword if it had happened, though.”

Klaus pressed a kiss to her hairline. “Good girl. I assume this is something you would like to try again, then?”

She nodded, already feeling excited when she imagined all the things they could do.

“I would love to.”

 

* * *

 

“So, tell me more about how you met! Your whole relationship has been kept in such secrecy… We’d love to know more about how it all started!” Meredith said, smiling at them.

Caroline tried not to feel too intimidated by the bright light on her face or all the cameras pointing at them. Klaus reach for her hand as he always did when he realized she was nervous. And she felt better as she always did.

“Well, the first time we met was in the ball King Ansel threw to introduce everyone to his son. We only talked for a few minutes and shared a dance,” she replied truthfully, making sure to look at her husband with adoring eyes, though he had been particularly annoying that night and had not made a good impression at all.

“And it was love at first sight?”

Klaus chuckled. “Only for one of us. It took me awhile to get her to feel the same.”

Meredith raised her brows, looking at her. “Oh. So you didn’t like him when you met him?”

She shook her head. “Well, I didn’t _dislike_ him, but I was — as I think everyone was when the news came out that we had a new Prince — a bit wary at first. But the more time I spent with him… I came to know him better and realize that he is an amazing person. And I am very lucky to have him by my side.”

“Aww,” Meredith swooned. “And I’m sure the accent played a part, too.”

Caroline laughed as he said, “She _is_ quite fond of it.”

“It does make him even more charming,” she agreed. “Which is very unfair at times.”

“I’m sure it makes it very difficult to stay mad at him.”

She nodded. “Yes, and he does make these adorable puppy eyes when he’s in trouble that make it even worse!”

Klaus shook his head. “I do no such thing!” he joked, in a way that was so unlike him but that she knew would make the video of that moment be shared thousands of times and that their tag on Tumblr and Twitter would be filled with gifs of it. It made them seem like a very in love couple who could not stop teasing each other.

#relationshipgoals.

If only they knew…

Except, it was getting harder and harder to dislike her current situation. To think that she was giving up a lot to one day become queen.

Some days she didn’t think she was giving up anything at all. And the way he looked at her, even when there was no one and no cameras around… She sometimes allowed herself to wonder.

If well, if maybe this show they put up didn’t have to be just that.

If maybe it didn’t all have to be a lie, after all.

 

* * *

 

Caroline loved the look on his face.

His eyes darkened and slightly hazed, his lips swollen from her kisses and slightly curled in satisfaction… How fucking proud he looked… And knowing that it was all her, that she was the one making him feel good was such a power high.

She hoped he could see how much she was enjoying it on her face, too. She couldn’t exactly tell him since her mouth was otherwise occupied.

She had never expected that giving a blowjob could feel this amazing.

The he swallowed as she teased him with her teeth, the way he groaned as she sucked around him… Knowing how much he was enjoying this, that her touch made him so desperate for more that he just _had_ to wrap his hand around her hair and take more… It felt perfect.

And it was perfectly dirty to have him be a little rougher and pull at her hair and just fuck her mouth. And even more so when he kept telling her how much he liked that. How much he liked that she was so willing to do it.

That was what he enjoyed the most, she thought. That they were only doing this because she wanted them to, because she wanted him to take control.

Because she trusted him.

… Well, wasn’t that a strange revelation?

 

* * *

 

Caroline had never felt quite this nervous while being in play with him.

It wasn’t the bad kind of nervous exactly, but it was still making her hands tremble a little. She only hoped he didn’t notice it. She didn’t want to make him worried and what she had in mind was supposed to be a surprise, after all.

She had thought about it all day; it had distracted her while she attended to all of her duties. She kept imagining what it would be like to do it, what his reaction would be. The look on his face.

And now that night had finally come and they were both alone in their bedroom…

Her stomach was fluttering, palms sweating. Anticipation was making her lower belly tighten.

“Hello, love,” he greeted as he closed the door behind him, already moving to remove his suit jacket. “How was your day?”

“Good,” she said, tucking her legs underneath her. She was sitting in bed, wearing a dark red negligee that contrasted beautifully with her skin. That caught his attention, and he started eyeing her hungrily. “Yours?”

“Much better now,” he told her with a wicked smile as he approached the bed.

“Do you like it?” she asked smugly as he sat on the bed beside her, already reaching to rest his hand on her thigh.

He raised his brows at her. “Very much so. Are you ready?”

Klaus always asked before they truly started playing, and she appreciated it. It was good to have those few seconds of mental preparation. Even more so today.

She felt her heart beating fast in her chest, its sound echoing loudly in her ears. She took a deep breath and nodded, before she could make herself say, _“Yes, Master.”_

And the way he froze for a moment before he smiled so widely at her… And, most importantly, the heat in his eyes… She smiled, too. Suddenly feeling all nervousness slipping away. His reaction made it feel too good for her to ever feel anxious about it.

He reached to cup her cheek, stroking her skin with his thumb fondly. “Good girl.”

And then he was kissing her like his life depended on it.

His hands wandered up and down her thigh as made her lean backwards and lie down on the bed. His touches became more and more urgent, grabbing onto the back of her thighs as he fit one of his legs in-between hers.

“Aren’t you lovely? Submitting to me. Such a fierce princess to everyone else, but here you let me be in charge, don’t you? You like having me given you the orders. Tell me what I am to you.”

Her eyelids fluttered as he dipped his head to tease her nipple with his teeth through the thin fabric of her negligee. “You’re my Master,” she told him dutifully, feeling herself growing wetter.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he said as he pulled back, sitting back on his calves. “Take off your clothes for me.”

Caroline eagerly did as he said, getting rid off the red silk in a second. She hadn’t bothered with underwear and she was glad she hadn’t. Both because of the way he looked at her and because of how desperately she wanted him.

“Can I please take off yours too, Master?” she asked sweetly, hoping that he wouldn’t deny her that.

Klaus seemed to be too happy about their current situation to deny her anything, though, so he nodded. “Yes.”

She quickly undid the buttons of his shirt and pushed it down his shoulders, revealing the dark ink on his skin. She unconsciously licked her lips as she wondered if he would let her trace it with her tongue later tonight.

She forced herself to focus on the task at hands, though, and reached for his pants, dealing with the belt and the button and the zipper in record time. Klaus seemed to think it so, too, because he laughed. “Someone is eager.”

“Sorry, Master,” she said, offering him a sheepish smile. “I just have been thinking about this all day. I really want to touch you.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” he assured her as he pushed down his pants and briefs. “You will.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“However,” he said and she already felt like groaning. There was always a catch with him. He seemed to notice her frustration, because he smiled and reached to tuck one of her curls behind her ear. “I’d like to try something new for you tonight. Would you like that?”

Her lower belly tightened with arousal. Something new? She was definitely excited to see what that could be. “I think so, Master.”

“Good. I want you on your hands and knees for me. Legs spread.”

She did as he said, getting into the position she knew he liked better (and if she were being honest, so did she). She was puzzled when he didn’t move to touch her, though, and instead stood up and moved away from the bed.

Caroline couldn’t see what he was doing with her head buried in the pillows, but it made it even more thrilling trying to guess what this was about only through hearing the sounds he made as he moved around their chambers.

Her inner thighs were covered with her arousal by the time he finally came back.

“You are so lovely, sweetheart,” he praised as he stroked the skin of her ass.

“Thank you, Master.”

She heard what she assumed was a bottle being opened, and felt her pussy clench around air in anticipation.

Caroline gasped in surprise as she felt something cold press against her ass. It took her a moment to realize it was one of his fingers covered in lube.

 _“Oh,”_ she couldn’t help but moan, feeling very tempted to bite into a pillow.

“Does this feel alright?” he asked as he slipped his finger further inside.

It definitely felt strange. Not exactly painful, but not yet comfortable. And every time he moved his finger, all it did was make her very aware of her empty her pussy felt.

“I think so, Master,” she replied, though, curious to see how this would go.

And the idea of Klaus fucking her in the ass was one that she definitely found very intriguing. And it felt fitting that he claimed her like that the day she started calling him Master. Like they were officializing it or something.

He pressed another finger inside of her.

 _“Oh,”_ she moaned again, this time more loudly. She was already gasping, her breathing heavy and quickened.

“That’s it, love,” he said soothingly. “Does it still feel good?” he asked as he began moving his fingers.

She had never had this much trouble concentrating on answering a simple question before — and Klaus had thoroughly tested her abilities of staying coherent while he fucked her.

“Yes, Master,” she cried out. Her hands closed around a pillow, gripping it so hard the white of her knuckles were showing.

He made a sound to indicate he’d heard her, but just kept on moving his fingers for a few moments. She never knew she could feel so sensitive.

“I am going to fuck you in your pretty ass tonight,” he said through her moaning. “I will take you like this so that you will remember that I am your Master, yes? That your body is mine and that you let me do whatever I want with it. Isn’t that right, Caroline?”

She was surprised by how much she agreed, by how much she enjoyed that that was the truth. “Yes, Master.”

“Good girl. Letting your Master do as he pleases. You like being a good girl for me. You like following my orders.”

Caroline didn’t have it in her to even say yes. She felt her body trembling, could feel herself sweating. She wanted it so much. She needed him to touch her, to take her like this. Like she was his.

She whimpered as he took his fingers off of her, feeling so _empty_.

Thankfully, that didn’t last long and she was suddenly feeling the exact opposite as he began to push his cock inside of her.

“Oh, oh, _oh_ ,” was all she managed to get out.

He moved very slowly, not wanting to cause her any pain, but it just made her even more aware of how fucking full she felt.

“Alright, love?” Klaus asked again, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. She knew he was probably having to restrain himself from moving right away.

Caroline tried to nod as best as she could. It took her awhile to manage to reply something coherent to him. “Yeah, Master. Just… Slowly?”

He hummed in agreement as he placed his hands on each side of her hips, grabbing them to offer her some support. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll be gentle.”

“I– _Fuck_. I trust you, Master.”

She could tell by his silence that it meant a lot to him. And the fact that he hadn’t realized it by now… She wondered if she should sometimes assure him of how much she enjoyed this and how much she enjoyed this because of him, just like he did with her all the time.

She couldn’t quite focus on it now, though. Because he then began moving.

Slowly, as he’d promised her. It was still quite overwhelming.

It felt good, but so different and all these new sensations were making her feel too much all at once. Her pussy kept clenching around nothing.

“Fuck, Caroline,” he cursed. “You feel so perfect. So fucking tight. And you are being such a good girl for me, too. Letting me take you like this… Calling me Master. You are doing so well, love. I love how willing you are to let me do whatever I want to your pretty body– how you know it’s actually mine. That your tight ass and your pretty pussy belong to me. You enjoy giving yourself to me so much, don’t you?”

Her only response was moaning his title.

He chuckled, his grip on her hips tightening a little.

“Good girl,” he praised again. “Doing what her Master wants her to.”

And the things he was saying combined with how he was fucking her… It was all too much. So much so that she suddenly realized it was not enough.

She found herself gasping out, _“More, please.”_

 

* * *

 

Caroline couldn’t quite believe they were doing this.

Well, she could believe that Klaus had suggested it, but she couldn’t understand why she had said yes.

And yet, there she was. Sitting at the backseat of a car with him, while he held her hand and talked about the trip to England they’d be taking next week. Oh, and while she tried not to be too obvious and let their driver and bodyguards know that she had a vibrator inside of her.

Klaus was looking at her with a smirk on his face as he talked.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” he asked, feigning concerned.

“I’m fine,” she said, gritting her teeth to hold back a moan. “I’m just feeling a little hot.”

He promptly asked their driver to turn on the AC, as if that would be helpful when what she actually needed was for him to take that toy out of her and then fuck her until she couldn’t walk straight.

Her Master — and what thrill it was to think of him like that — had other plans, of course. He had sounded very excited to watch her squirm in her seat as they sat through a six-course meal.

In all honesty, she was feeling a bit excited about it, too.

About what it would be like to be sitting there in front of everyone while trying to masks her reactions. She wondered if anyone would notice anything, though it was thrilling to know that, even if anyone suspected something was wrong, they would never truly know what was going on.

And if they ever found out… It was so sinful to imagine everyone knowing what their future rulers were up to.

Still, even if she was excited, the moment the car stopped in front of the restaurant, she felt a little nervous. She’d only have to walk a few steps up to the door, that was true. But that short distance would be filled with paparazzi taking pictures of her.

And walking with the vibrator inside of her was something else entirely. It was much harder to keep a straight face when it moved inside of her.

Klaus squeezed her hand to reassure her as someone opened the car door for them.

He stepped outside first, still holding her hand to help her out. And _oh,_ moving to stand up really changed the angle and it felt so fucking good.

The camera flashes reminded her she couldn’t react to it, though. Even if she felt like whimpering.

People kept calling their names and she did her best to remember to smile and wave and not to look like a complete mess who was so close to getting off basically in front of the whole world.

She gripped Klaus’s hand a little tighter in her frustration and he gave her a knowing, smug look, though he did begin caressing the back of her hand with his thumb soothingly.

Caroline tried calming herself with the fact that the door was so close, but, of course, how difficult this was wouldn’t stop once she was inside.

She squeezed her hand very hard and bit her lower lip as they climbed the final step to the restaurant door, feeling herself snapping and _great,_ now the whole world would have access to a photograph where she was coming… Even if her back was turned to the cameras and they would never know it.

Klaus looked trouble for a moment. Maybe he hadn’t anticipated how much this would be affecting him.

And his reaction would be _much harder_ to hide — pun intended.

Thankfully, soon they were seated and there was a waiter waiting to take their order. She was glad that Klaus knew her well enough to know what she would like. Though he still checked everything with her (he was an asshole, but not _that_ kind of an asshole, thank you very much), it was still much easier to nod or say ‘yes’ without sounding breathless.

“Are you alright?” he questioned quietly once they were alone once more, this time truly looking worried.

She nodded, though. “Yes, Master,” she promised, looking around to make sure that no one could hear them.

Klaus reached for her hand over the table. “Let me know if that changes,” he said firmly, making sure she understood that was very much a rule she was expected to follow.

But she truly didn’t think that would change. It was risky and yes, perhaps, a bit overwhelming, but it felt so fucking good. Especially when she knew that he was getting almost as affected as she was.

Their waiter came back with their salmon trout tartare and dry champagne. She felt tempted to ask him to leave the bottle — though she supposed being drunk and turned on would be worse than just being turned on.

She struggled to keep a conversation going on with him and he smiled everytime she failed to completely suppress a moan.

Caroline came again while they were waiting for their _soupe à l’oignon_ , her hands gripping tightly onto the edge of the table as she closed her eyes for a second, focusing real hard on not making a sound.

He squeezed her hand again after that. She was thankful he always made a point to reassure her and let her know that she was doing well.

And that fact that she was pleasing him, that he was looking at her like he was proud of her for doing as he said even in a more extreme situation like this… It made everything feel even better.

She was really growing impatient by their time they finished their seared hake. And when they were finally eating their canard a l’orange, she gulped down her glass of Côtes-du-Rhône, desperately seeking something that would help with her frustration.

And, honestly, what was the need for salad anyway? She certainly couldn’t have done without it.

Hell, by the time dessert came, she was sure she could do without that, too — and for her that was saying something. Though she supposed she’d have something much sweeter to enjoy at home, anyway.

She had come another three times before they were finally ready to leave. The inside of her thighs was aching and her knees were weak enough that Klaus had to wrap his arm around her waist and discreetly support her on their way out.

She was sure their fans would look at it and think it sweet when they saw the pictures and videos. She was far too frustrated to appreciate the gesture, though.

He pressed his lips against her hairline once the car door had closed behind them.

“You were so good for me tonight, sweetheart,” he praised very quietly so they wouldn’t be heard.

“Thank you, Master,” she said breathlessly, eyes closed.

Klaus wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him so that she could lay her head on his shoulder. She spent the entire car ride trying to figure out if his scent was helping her feel calmer or if it was just riling her up even more.

It was supposed to be a relief when their car finally stopped at the palace, but just the thought of having to climb all of those stairs up to their bedroom… It was making her tremble.

He kept his arm around her waist at all times, though, and kept whispering to her about how well she was doing and how proud she had made him. That made it a little easier.

Still, when they finally reached their bedroom, she felt exhausted and her entire body was trembling. With each step she’d taken up the stairs, the toy had moved inside of her, which could’ve felt good if she weren’t completely overwhelmed by all the stimulation she had received tonight.

Klaus helped her to the couch, sitting beside her. He brushed his hair off her face, caressing it for a few moments as she grabbed onto his forearms.

“Turn around, love,” he instructed. “It’ll only be a few more moments.”

She did as he said, letting him reach the zipper at the back of her dress. Her skin was so hot and so sensitive it was a relief when he helped her take it off.

Klaus dragged down her panties next, and all she could to help him was lift her body for a few seconds before slumping down on the couch again.

 _“Please, Master”_ she begged, thinking that she couldn’t take more of it anymore.

“Shh,” he said softly. “Spread your legs for me.”

She did. And she almost cried in relief as he took the vibrator out of her. “Thank you, Master,” she managed to say, her breathing still heavy.

He only nodded and pulled her to him, so that she’d be sitting on his lap. He pressed her body against his, making her head rest on his chest as he held her close, running his hand up and down her back.

“You were such a good girl for me today, sweetheart. Did you enjoy it, knowing that everyone could see you? That if they looked at the right moment they would see you coming? And all because you are so good for your Master that you decided you’d follow his every order.”

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “It felt really good,” she confessed. “Especially because I knew you were enjoying it, too, Master.”

He pressed a kiss against her hairline. “I was,” he assured her. “Very much so.”

Caroline stayed silents for a few moments, trying to figure out how to tell him what she wanted to say. She settled for, “I don’t think I can take much more tonight, Master. But I can take care of you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Caroline,” he assured her. “You’ve done more than enough tonight and I want you to rest… And perhaps tomorrow morning we’ll test if you’re still too exhausted for your Master, yes?”

“Okay, then,” she agreed, and allowed him to comfort her for the rest of the night.

As it turned out, she was not too tired next morning and he did make her scream loud enough that someone from their staff could swear they’d heard something coming from their bedroom even if she had been two rooms away.

 

* * *

 

“Caroline!”

Her head turned in the direction of that familiar voice. She forced a smile onto her face as she realized to whom it belonged.

“Tyler,” she greeted as he approached them.

By the corner of her eyes, she could see Klaus tensing slightly. He kept his arm wrapped around her waist and stepped even closer to her. Right. So he knew that Tyler and her had been a thing once upon a time.

Caroline offered him her gloved hand and he bowed to press a kiss to her knuckles. And, even though Klaus had done the same thing countless times with her (even before they were married), she saw him rolling his eyes.

“It’s good to see you,” Tyler said with a smile before turning to Klaus and shaking his hand. “And you, Your Highness.”

“Likewise, Lord Lockwood,” Klaus said dryly, and not at all convincingly.

Her lips twitched. Was he jealous?

Why did it make her so happy to think that was the case?

Tyler stood there awkwardly, seeming not to know what to do now that he had approached them. And why he had approached them for anything more than a quick hello was beyond her. They had been a thing once, but that was ages ago. And she was married now, for Heaven’s sake!

Klaus seemed to take the awkwardness as a sign that he should give them space to talk and, while she did appreciate the gesture, it was truly not what she wanted or needed in this case.

“Excuse me,” he said. “I need to speak with my father before the celebrations begin. I will meet you before our dance, love.”

She nodded, smiling as he pressed a kiss on the corner of her lips. “Okay. Tell Ansel I said thank you for lending me the tiara,” she reminded him, looking up to the diamond encrusted jewelry at the top of her head.

“Of course,” he promised before stepping away, his arm slowly letting go of her and his hand brushing against her torso and arm as he did so.

She immediately missed his touch, but she forced herself to look at Tyler.

“Well, how are you?” she asked, wincing at how weird this was.

“I’m fine. What about you? What has it been like marrying into the royal family?” he asked, almost like an accusation.

Caroline raised her chin. “It’s been great, actually,” her voice came out a bit coldly.

“Marrying the guy who didn't even know he was a prince? Who is clearly not good enough to become a king?”

She had never felt so angry so quickly.

“If you came here to insult my husband, you better leave. We both know I’m not above calling the guards to escort you out. Klaus has done nothing to suggest that he wouldn’t be a good king — in fact, he’s done quite the opposite! He has done everything to help this country and its people. He’s certainly done more than you, and you’ve lived here your entirely life!”

Tyler stared at her for a few moments and she couldn’t quite read what he was thinking or feeling until he started laughing.

“You really love him, don’t you?”

Her heart skipped a beat. She blinked at him a few times.

“That’s kind of obvious considering that I _married_ him, isn’t it?” she forced herself to say.

He shook his head. “I didn’t think you could fall in love with him. Everyone knew that you hated him. And yet here we are… You truly love him.”

Her hands were shaking.

“I do.”

It didn’t feel like a lie.

Tyler shook his head again, as if he just couldn’t believe it. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure she could either.

He sighed, and leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. “I hope you are happy, Care.”

“I am,” she told him. Another truth. “I hope you are, too.”

He smiled and proceeded to tell her how he had met this great girl named Olivia and how things were going great. She nodded politely and commented when necessary, but her real attention lied with the man standing on the other side of the room.

She could see Klaus staring at her, as if he could sense the things she was thinking about. The things she was feeling.

God, this was so not supposed to be this complicated.

And the thought of having to get closer to him again was making her palms sweat. He was far too perceptive when it came to her. What if he took one good look at her eyes and could tell what she was beginning to feel for him?

What would it mean if he didn’t feel the same?

She didn’t have the choice to stay away when the time for the first dance was announced. Usually, the king or queen would kick off the ball by dancing with their consorts, but since Ansel was not married, that task had been assigned to Klaus and her.

And soon she found herself in his arms, doing her best not to look directly into his eyes as they started dancing.

Caroline wanted to kick herself for how good she was feeling about being in his arms. By how much she wanted that moment to never end.

It was a relief that they couldn’t talk during this first dance, not with everyone watching them, because she couldn’t figure out what to say. Couldn’t figure out how to act normal when she was feeling like this.

She had tried so hard to fight this, had tried so hard to pretend it wasn’t happening.

And now that it had, she had been caught all by surprise.

Unfortunately for her, they wouldn’t share only one dance that night. And when the other couples joined in and no one was paying particularly close attention to them anymore, talking became a possibility.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” Klaus asked, choosing to say that to break the silence.

At this, she couldn’t help but meet his eyes, though she had been trying to avoid it. She frowned, not understanding how he could think that. “What?”

He clenched his jaw. “You seemed close, that is all. And you spent quite some time speaking with him once I left.”

“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. I had to listen to him talk about his _new girlfriend_ for a while,” she said pointedly.

“Right,” he said, looking a little bit thrown off by that new piece of information. “Still,” he insisted, though. “If you were having feelings for–”

“Stop,” she interrupted. “I don’t have feelings for him. Or for… Or for anyone else, for that matter. There is no need to be jealous,” she added the last part with a teasing smile, hoping that he would focus on that rather than on her blatant lie.

He took the bait.

“I wasn’t jealous.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right. And that was why you were asking me if I had feelings for another guy.”

“Because I care about you,” he said and she felt her heart racing. “And I didn’t want you to suffer because of what we are doing.”

Caroline couldn’t help but smile. “And because you were jealous,” she said just to make things a little lighter, though.

He rolled his eyes before he squinted them at her and leaned in.

“Were you trying to get your Master jealous?” he whispered in her ear. “Because I don’t think that is the wisest course of action, love.”

“And if I had been?” she asked impulsively, feeling her lower belly tighten with arousal. “What would happen then?”

He pulled back to look at her, wickedness dancing in his eyes as he smiled. “You’ll find out when we get home, I suppose.”

 

* * *

 

Anticipation was a bitch.

For hours during the party, she had wondered what it would be like. What he would do to her. Would he punish her? They hadn’t really ever done that before, except for him delayed gratification when she got a little too greedy.

Would he spank her? Was it weird that she wished that he would?

She had been curious for them to try that out, wondering how it would feel to have his hand stain her skin red.

How she would reminded of how sinful it had felt the next day, when she couldn’t stop fidgeting in her seat during all of her meetings and duties.

And she was so glad that for once she predicted right what Klaus would do. And it was so thrilling when he told her to undress for him as he sat on the edge of the bed, watching her like a hawk — a very hungry hawk.

“Come here,” he ordered once her dress and underwear were on the floor.

She complied quickly, though when she moved to straddle his lap, he showed her that he had other plans in mind. He shook his head as he helped her get into the position he wanted her to be in… Bent over his lap.

She felt herself shivering as he traced the curve of her ass with his fingertips.

“You see, Caroline, I do not like when those who belong to me disrespect me.”

“I’m sorry, Master. I never meant to do that,” she assured him, and it was true.

She could hear the smile on his voice as he said. “It’s so easy to ask for forgiveness, isn’t it? I don’t think that will be enough today, love. I want you to remember what you shouldn't do. I want you to learn from your mistakes. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. It’ll be 20, then. You will count for me and thank me for each of them. If you failed to do so, we will add three more. Do you have any questions?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so, Master.”

“Let’s get started, then.”

Caroline squirmed in surprise as his palm hit her for the first time, the sharp pain making a rush of excitement go through her. “One. Thank you, Master,” she said as instructed.

He gave her just a second to prepare herself before he hit her again.

“Two. Thank you, Master.”

It felt so _wrong_ thanking him for punishing her, but it also felt so fucking good.

And the more times he hit her, the better it felt. Especially as the pain grew bigger as he started hitting the same spots repeatedly.

By the 10th strike, she was already panting for him.

“You are doing so well, Caroline,” he praised encouragingly as he caressed the sensitive skin of her ass. “I love seeing your skin painted red because of my hand. You look lovely.”

“Thank you, Master,” she said, hoping that he wouldn’t think she was being cheeky. She did enjoy that he was enjoying this.

He seemed to believe her, because he didn’t say anything and just moved onto the next strike.

Around the 15th, she could feel the skin of her inner thighs were slick, completely covered in her arousal. She did like there was that damning evidence against her. That anyone could look and see just how much she had enjoyed being punished by her husband.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he said as they reached the final two. “Only a little more.”

“19. Thank you, Master.”

She closed her eyes, her body trembling in anticipation and relief as she waited for the final strike. She winced as it finally happened, her skin too sore, though still deliciously so, if she was being honest.

“20. Thank you, Master.”

Klaus helped her change her position so that she’d be sitting on his lap. His eyes scanning her face, looking for any sign of discomfort.

“You were perfect,” he told her truthfully. “Did you enjoy it?”

She smiled even as she blushed a little. “Yes, Master. It felt good.”

He raised his brows at her. “Hopefully not so good that you haven’t learned your lesson.”

Caroline shook her head. “No, Master. I’ve learned that I shouldn’t disrespect your or bait you by making you feel jealous.”

And for a moment, she almost thought he was about to deny that he had ever felt jealous. But then he minutely shook his head, as if trying to clear his head, and said, “That’s right, sweetheart. _You are mine._ And you need to remember that.”

Her heart began beating really fast inside her chest.

He tensed, mistaking her hesitation with discomfort at his statement. Caroline immediately pressed her lips against his, not wanting him to think that for even a moment.

“I will never forget that, Master. I promise,” she assured him as soon as she had pulled back.

His eyes darkened. “Good. Now get on your hands and knees for me.”

She complied very quickly, needing to have him inside of her as soon as humanly possible.

She had to impatiently wait for him to get rid off his clothes, though. The sound of him removing them teasing her as she had to stay put with her legs spread for him, wishing that she could get at least a little bit of friction.

Caroline almost cried out in relief when she felt the bed dipping beside her with his weight. And she did actually cry out in relief as he finally positioned himself beside her and pushed himself inside of her.

Klaus didn’t waste any time in making her beg tonight, thankfully. As if he needed her as much as she needed him (which she didn’t really think it was possible), he already began fucking her fast and rough the way she loved.

“I will never get over how good it feels to have you,” he confessed. “I love how eager you are to let me take you like this. I love how wet you always are for me. I love your tight pretty pussy. And I love the sounds you make for me when I fuck you… When I claim you like this. You enjoy it, don’t you?”

“Yes, Master,” she said easily. “I love the way you make me scream.”

“Good. I want the whole palace to hear you. I want everyone to know that you are mine.”

Caroline almost couldn’t take it, especially when he wrapped his fingers around her hair and pulled… She couldn’t help the word that escaped her lips. The confession she was so easily giving him.

 _“Yours,”_ she agreed, almost desperately.

And for a moment, Klaus’s movements faltered and he fell off his rhythm for a few seconds. Did he understand what she was telling him?

He began fucking her even faster as he pulled her hair more roughly. “That’s right, sweetheart. You are mine. You have been given yourself to me for months now, haven’t you? And none of these other men who might want to have you matter, isn’t that right? Because no one can touch you like this but me.”

“Yes, Master. Only you,” she managed to say, though her vision was already being clouded by shining bright dots.

“Good girl,” he praised, sounding so freaking satisfied as he reached to rub her clit. “Submitting to her Master, knowing that he is the only one who gets to touch her… Come for me, Caroline. I want to hear you scream my name.”

It would be very hard not to follow such a lovely command.

She came with his name on her lips, and it wasn’t long before he was coming with her name on his.

And it felt so good and so thrilling what this slight shift could mean. Her heart was still racing even after minutes of just cuddling in his arms.

Though, to be fair, she had spent most of those minutes trying to figure out whether she should or not say something, and that was quite nerve wracking.

Finally, she took a deep breath and said, “When you say I am yours…”

Klaus tensed underneath. “You don’t have to worry about–”

“Please let me finish,” she interrupted him, hoping they weren’t still in play and continuing not moving to look at his face. “I just… I just need to know if you really mean it. It’s okay either way. I just need to know.”

Unfortunately for her, Klaus sat up, forcing her to do the same, just so that he could look into his eyes. He was frowning as he said, “I’m not sure about what you’re asking me, Caroline.”

She sighed. “Look, I need you to help me out here. You’ve been reading me ever since we got married, probably before. You can’t possibly need me to spell it out for you now, Klaus. That’s just not fair.”

His lips twitched. “Sorry, love. I think you’ll just have to say it this time.”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You’re useless! And to think I was about to tell you that I have feelings for you,” she blurted out without thinking her words through.

The look of surprise on his face almost made the panic she was feeling worth it. What truly did it, though, was the smile that slowly spread across his face.

He looked so fucking happy.

“You have feelings for me?”

She shrugged, knowing there was no way she could play it cool, but still trying anyway as a weird defense mechanism. “I don’t know. Maybe? I just… I like the idea of being with you. And I like that everyone thinks that we’re a couple, and lately I’ve been thinking… Well, what makes us different from actual couples, you know? We are friends, or at least I like to think that we are. And we obviously trust each other considering everything that we do. And we have fun together, and I like spending time with you, and I love the way you make me feel and it’s just… I know that this wasn’t why we got married, but…”

Klaus cupped her cheek. “Now it’s different. And now you are wondering if our marriage didn’t have to be a fake one, after all.”

“Would that be so bad?” she asked uncertainly.

He shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Yeah?” she pressed, though she was already smiling, too.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “I want you by my side, Caroline. Always.”

She pressed a kiss to his lips before she voiced her agreement, “Always.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!


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